Your biggest goal setting gaffes

If you’ve laid out a mental plan to succeed but failed, these are the course corrections you need to make to supersede your expectations in 2018:

Mistake 1: You don’t track the progress made towards your goal.

Always keep a training and nutrition record that maps your weekly progress, so you can decide where and when you need to make improvements. Keeping a log of your key training particulars (reps, sets, weight, mindset, and nutrition) in a special diary will always improve your chances of achieving your fitness goals, according to the British Psychological Society.

Mistake 2: You don’t live in the now.

Long-term goals are worth setting, however, it’s also smart to zero in on what’s happening to you this week. A paper in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association suggests that for success, you should emphasize achieving short-term behavioral goals, such as cooking a healthier dinner just three nights a week rather than focusing on long-term weight loss goal, such as eating healthy on every meal, which can prove overwhelming.

Mistake 3: You don’t cut yourself a little slack.

Don’t be too hard on yourself because a little elasticity is vital for long-term success. A study in the Journal of Consumer Research found people are more likely to pursue goals when they are very ambitious, yet flexible. So, it seems easier to aspire toward gaining 1lb of muscle in a week rather than gaining 10lbs in ten weeks. It’s the flexibility that’s attractive because it’s attainable, yet still challenging.

Mistake 4: You think about quitting when faced with a setback.

You will veer off track, no matter how well prepared you are, so make sure you can refocus your energy in a positive light. Research at the University of Alberta found positive expectations helped people recover from injuries three times faster. It’s easy to live by the saying: fall down 7 times, get up 8, but you’ll be more successful if you do it with a smile in your thoughts.